After an extended break from match action, FC Halifax Town are preparing for yet another trip down south this weekend as the Shaymen visit Bromley FC’s Hayes Lane.
The freezing overnight conditions last weekend, which saw the home tie against Leyton Orient called off following a pitch inspection, meant that Billy Heath’s men were forced to wait another week to return to Vanarama National League fixtures.
In this section, we look at the previous games played out between the Shaymen and the Ravens, with the most obvious starting point being the reverse fixture earlier in the season.
It was the back end of September, and the Shaymen were flying through an impressive run which saw them pick up five wins from their last seven fixtures going into the visit of Bromley at the MBi Shay Stadium.
However, Town were slapped with an early setback following Scott Garner’s dismissal at the end of the first half. Although it did not seem to affect the home side, as Matty Kosylo slotted home the opener just ten minutes into the second half to put Town in the ascendency.
The Ravens managed to find a goal back through substitute George Porter’s strike just after the hour mark, but Town were not ready to let the victory slip.
Less than ten minutes later, Tom Denton headed home the winner following good work from goal-scorer Kosylo, as Town continued their fine start to life back in the National League.
Before the game earlier in the season, you would only have to look back at the 2015/16 season to see the last time these two sides faced each other. The first meeting of that campaign was nothing short of thrilling to say the least.
Despite neither side managing to break the deadlock until late in the second half, it was clear that there was to be plenty of goals in this game.
The opening exchanges saw chances from the likes of Scott McManus, Shaun Tuton and James Bolton go begging for the Shaymen. On the other hand, Barrow’s Moses Ademola showed how dangerous he would prove to be, hitting the woodwork less than fifteen minutes in.
It was that man Ademola who managed to find an opener with just fifteen minutes to go, as the game wore on to give Bromley the advantage. By the final minute, the Ravens doubled their lead through Pierre Joseph-Dubois to surely seal the victory.
However, this was just the start of a crazy end in favour of the Shaymen. Four minutes later and Town pulled one back following a great strike from Connor Hughes, as the home side battled to earn a point.
Persistence paid dividends for Town after a foul by Ali Fuseini handed the Shaymen a penalty in the sixth minute of added time. Jordan Burrow stepped up to fire home, handing Town their first point of the campaign.
It was not until early March 2016 before the two sides met again, with Town looking to pick up as many points as possible to avoid the looming relegation places.
The first half seemed to have a feel of the previous fixture at the Shay, as Moses Emmanuel had the best of the chances to put the home side in the lead early on. With the game progressing, Town were put under constant pressure from a dominant Bromley side.
Once again, it was the Ravens who broke the deadlock on the 75th minute. This time though, it was Adam Cunnington who fired the only goal of the game past Sam Johnson, as the Shaymen succumbed to their sixteenth defeat of the league campaign.
If you cannot make it to Hayes Lane, then there will be live match updates along with commentary available on the club website.
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